Keith Vaz
Main Page: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I wrote to you over the weekend about a number of security breaches in the House, particularly the theft of laptops from right hon. and hon. Members. I had my laptop and iPad, which I had only just worked out how to use, stolen last Thursday. Since inquiring in Norman Shaw North and with other of its residents, I have been told that a number of laptops have been taken from there. Indeed, just this moment my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mrs Chapman) told me that her laptop and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander) were stolen recently from the courtyard next to your accommodation in Speaker’s House. I have discussed the matter with colleagues, and they have suggested a number of measures. Either we should set up our own neighbourhood watch in Norman Shaw North, or perhaps when you meet President Obama on Wednesday you could ask him to leave some of the 200 security officers he is bringing with him. On a serious note, in our view it is bad practice that in a building such as this, which has protection from the outside, these thefts are ongoing and getting worse. I seek your advice on what we can do about this serious matter, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order, and for his unsolicited advice, of which, as always, I am appreciative. I commiserate with him on his personal loss, and I extend those commiserations to the hon. Members for Darlington (Mrs Chapman) and for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander), and other right hon. and hon. Members similarly deprived. It is an extremely serious matter. The right hon. Gentleman will know that we do not discuss security on the Floor of the House. However, it is incumbent on me, which is why I welcome this opportunity, to make it clear that the matter is being investigated—I hope comprehensively—and certainly I can testify to him that it is being investigated as a matter of urgency. When those investigations have been completed, I hope they will prove profitable.